The Master of Arts began as a medieval Parisian licence to teach
A Master of Arts was once literally a qualification to be a master: the University of Paris granted a teaching licence, the licentia docendi, to graduates ready to instruct others. Centuries later the degree survives across Europe in surprisingly varied forms, from German Magister titles to Czech prefixes written before a person's name.
Abbreviated MA or AM, from the Latin Magister Artium, the degree is usually set against the Master of Science. Most holders studied humanities or social sciences, such as history, languages, economics, law or diplomacy, though conventions differ and some universities award it in mathematics or natural sciences. Its roots lie in Paris, where the university produced graduate teachers entitled to lecture in their subject.
Germany kept the Latin name for centuries. Its Magister Artium, typically four to four and a half years of study, ran through the Holy Roman Empire, the German Empire and the Federal Republic, but never existed in East Germany, where every course ended in a Diplom. A Magister student took either two majors or one major with two minors. English-style postgraduate masters arrived in 2001, and because a new bachelor plus master adds up to five years, the two awards are treated as equals; some universities still granted the old title as of 2020.
Central Europe reshaped its degrees under the Bologna Process. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia a master's once meant five unbroken years; now it is two years on top of a three-year bachelor, with a thesis defended before an academic board and final exams covering the whole programme. Graduates put a title in front of their name: Mgr. for humanities and social sciences, Ing. for engineering and maths-heavy fields, and MgA. for the arts. Poland does something similar, where engineers can end up styled mgr inż after completing both stages, and it split its five-year courses in the 1990s.
The Netherlands made its switch in 2002. Before then a single long programme led to the doctorandus degree, or ingenieur for technical subjects, matching the combined load of a bachelor and master. Students caught in the transition could choose between the old prefix drs. or ir. before their name and the new MA or MSc after it, a small but telling choice between tradition and international legibility.
Source: Master of Arts
